The present invention relates to connectors between first and second aircraft components (for example a wing and wing tip device), and more specifically to connectors comprising a spigot and a lug, the lug having a hole for receiving the respective spigot in a male/female connection. The present disclosure also relates to an aircraft structure comprising a first structure connected to a second structure by the plurality of connectors, and a method of connecting the two structures.
There is a trend towards increasingly large passenger aircraft, for which it is desirable to have correspondingly large wing spans. However, the maximum aircraft span is effectively limited by airport operating rules which govern various clearances required when manoeuvring around the airport (such as the span and/or ground clearance required for gate entry and safe taxiway usage).
In some suggested designs, aircraft are provided with wing tip devices which may be folded to reduce the span of the aircraft on the ground (compared to when the aircraft is configured for flight). The wing tip devices may, for example, be configurable between: (i) a flight configuration for use during flight and (ii) a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations, in which ground configuration the wing tip device is moved away from the flight configuration such that the span of the aircraft is reduced.
UK patent application number GB1503980.3 filed on 9 Mar. 2015 with agent's reference P023010GB/JMF describes a previously-suggested arrangement in which an aircraft comprises a wing and a wing tip device, the wing tip device being moveable relative to the wing between: a flight configuration for use during flight, an intermediate configuration, and a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations. In the flight configuration the wing and wing tip device are locked together via a multiplicity of connectors. In the intermediate configuration the wing tip device is displaced forwards in a chordwise direction, relative to the wing, the displacement being such that the connection by the multiplicity of connectors is disengaged and being such that the wing tip device is unlocked from the wing. In the intermediate configuration the wing tip device is also connected to the wing via a hinge about which the wing tip device may rotate. In the ground configuration, the wing tip device is rotated about the hinge, such that the span of the aircraft is reduced.
The connectors described in UK patent application number GB1503980.3 each comprise a spigot and lug, the lug having a hole for receiving the respective spigot in a male/female connection. When the wing tip device is moved in a chordwise direction, the spigots move into/out of the hole of the respective lug, such that the connectors move to an engaged/disengaged configuration.
It has been identified that in the above-described arrangement, each spigot may not necessarily line up with the hole of its respective lug. This may, for example, be due to factors such as tolerances, deflections, wear effects, and/or temperature changes.
One suggestion for overcoming this problem is to deliberately make the diameter of each spigot smaller than the hole of the respective lug. Such an arrangement is better able to cope with misalignment. However, it also results in a relatively loose fit between the spigot and the lug. A loose fit is undesirable because it could lead to fretting and wear under flight conditions, which often result in the wing/wing tip device vibrating and/or flexing.
The present invention seeks to mitigate at least some of the above-mentioned problems, particularly relating to misalignment and/or fretting and wear.